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Krazy Kids: Trip To Tokyo
Krazy Kids: Trip To Tokyo is a 2000 American direct-to-video animated comedy film from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Animation Studios. Featuring the regular characters from the Nickelodeon animated television program Krazy Kids, the film follows them going on a special field trip to Tokyo, Japan, mainly focused on Stacy and Angel going downriver, Bryan, Ian-Deheza, and Jose going to the Tokyo Amusement Park, Robin in search of his favorite movie star, and other characters with their roles. Steven Speilberg was the executive producer of the film, which was written by Paul Dini, Nicholas Hollander, Tom Ruegger, and Sherri Stoner. Japanese animation studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now known as TMS Entertainment) produced the animation for the film. Trip To Tokyo was released on both VHS and LaserDisc formats on Sunday, September 23, 2001. It was the second animated film to be released direct-to-video in the United States. The film was later aired on television as four separate Krazy Kids episodes. The film was one of the highest selling videos in the United States, listing on Billboard magazine's 40 "Top Video Sales" for 16 weeks as of November 2000. Points of praise by critics included the film's jokes and celebrity caricatures, while points of criticism included the segmented plot. Themes of the film included parodies of pop culture and field trips. Synopsis A paper falls from a plane and landed on the lawn of Howard D. McMillan Middle School, and the Krazy Kids are going on a special field trip to Tokyo, Japan. Voice Cast Uncredited Frank Rodriguez - Haruto Aki Damian Gonzales - Michael Gonzales Gilbert Roberts - Antonio Hill Vincent Guerra - Meckle and Neckle, Danky Dave and Little Richard Production In 1995, Devin Torres magazine reported that Nickelodeon was planning the release of Trip To Tokyo, then referred to as a "Krazy Kids home video". Plans for the film began in the mid-1990s after Krazy Kids premiered on television in the mid-1970s. Nickelodeon discussed with executive producer Steven Spielberg whether the film should be released in theaters, but Spielberg insisted on a direct-to-video release. Spielberg said that he wanted to make the film a direct-to-video release because "animated features are ideally suited for the repeat viewing," a factor he found important to the genre's appeal to those watching animated films at home. In an interview for the Los Angeles Times, executive in charge of production Jean MacCurdy did not specify the budget of the film, but stated that it was far more costly than episodes of Krazy Kids. According to Hal Erickson's Television Cartoon Shows: an Illustrated Encyclopedia, the budget of the average Krazy Kids episode was approximately $450,000. Trip To Tokyo was written by series writers Paul Dini, Nicholas Hollander, Tom Ruegger, and Sherri Stoner. Ruegger also produced the film, and Steven Speilberg was the executive producer. The film was animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, a Japanese studio. The film had eight directors: Rich Aarons, Ken Boyer, Kent Butterworth, Barry Caldwell, Alfred Gimeno, Arthur Leonardi, Byron Vaughns, and Aoyama Hiroshi. The film is about 95 minutes long. Themes One of the main hallmarks of Trip To Tokyo was the parody of film, popular culture, and celebrities. Videos for Kids noted that the film makes fun of "California culture and youth" with the use of celebrity caricatures, such as those of Roseanne Barr, Johnny Carson, Arsenio Hall, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey, and Sylvester Stallone. The film makes fun of other cartoon characters, such as those of Superman, The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Beavis and Butthead, Tiny Toon Adventures, and The Little Mermaid. Stacy and Angel's travels down the river are a parody of the film Deliverance. Jean MacCurdy said that Trip To Tokyo makes fun of school field trips by mocking "the boredom of school and some of those excellent plane trips" (an issue that was first explored in National Lampoon's Vacation). In the film, Jose's clinginess is very taxing for Bryan and Ian-Deheza; they are disgusted by the clings and are nearly killed by an escaped lunatic that what teachers mistakes for a hitchhiker (he happens to be a caricature of Jason Voorhees). The film's fictional theme park, "Tokyo Joyland, is a spoof of Disneyland. The film also parodies the THX logo and its corresponding Deep Note by parodying the original 1988 “Cimarron” trailer, when Eduardo and Andrew are at the movie theater. Home media releases and broadcast Trip To Tokyo was released direct-to-video on August 29, 2000. The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc formats. MacCurdy said that the film was released at that time to take advantage of the Easter market.4 Because retailers had high demand for the film, Viacom shipped to them nearly two million copies, which the Los Angeles Times noted as "a second record for direct-to-video programs". Trip To Tokyo was the second direct-to-video, feature-length animated film released in the United States. At the time, the concept of a direct-to-videoanimated feature was so strange to consumers that some mistakenly thought Trip To Tokyo was a collection of Krazy Kids episodes. The film later aired on Fox Kids on September 5, 2001,16 as four Krazy Kids episodes, episodes 97 through 100. Nickelodeon began to release the Krazy Kids series on DVD, in volumes, on July 29, 2008.17 The company released Trip To Tokyo for the first time on DVD on August 23, 2015 (7 years later).18 The Hub, which airs Krazy Kids, has shown the film as a "Hub Family Movie." Reception Reviews ranged from positive to mixed. Giving three out of four bones, the VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever highlighted the parodies in the film, and noted that "Parents will be as equally entertained children by the level of humor and fast-paced action". Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying the film was "episodic," but praised the voice cast, songs and "funny business". TV Guide called the film a "firecracker", citing the film's many jokes. The book Videos for Kids: The Essential, Indispensable Parent's Guide to Children's Movies on Video praised the "tongue-in-cheek humor" and celebrity caricatures but issued warning to parents, stating that the film may not be appropriate for "children too young to identify satire" because the characters in the film "are rude and combative" and may not be positive role models. Videos for Kids still concluded that the film "should provide an enjoyable viewing experience for the whole family". Dennis Hunt of the Los Angeles Times said that the format of a direct-video film was "unusual", but that some parts of the film were "hilarious", especially the scenes which make fun of Walt Disney World. Since its release, Trip To Tokyo has been rated as one of the "Top 20 (U.S.-Produced) Direct-to-Video Animated Films" by The Animated Movie Guide. Rating the film a "B+" overall, Steve Daly of Entertainment Weekly noted that while the film was "superior to most TV fare", he called the film a "pandering kidvid make-over" of the SchoolToons cartoons on which Krazy Kids was based, saying the characters were immature and the content was "fast without being funny". A 2000 issue of the Video Watchdog was particularly critical, calling the film "a mixed bag" that "sacrificed (...) a cohesive plot for an outline that allows various teams of characters to come up with four stories." The magazine also questioned the point of using characters heavily based on the classic SchoolToons characters instead of using the classic characters themselves. The VHS release of Trip To Tokyo was one of the highest selling videos in the United states; on the Billboard charts, the video ranked 14th in sales in April 2001. In May 2001, Trip To Tokyo rose to 10th in video sales. On July 18, 2001, Trip To Tokyo had been on Billboard Magazine's 40 "Top Video Sales" for 16 weeks. On November 25, 2001, the film was ranked the 5th highest on Billboard's "Top Kid Video". On February 6, 2003, Trip To Tokyo had been on the "Top Kid Video" list for 41 weeks. While it did not state the revenue of the film, the Toronto Star stated that the film sold so well that Nickelodeon decided to release videos of Krazy Kids episodes. The film was also a spoof parody of the 1992 Tiny Toon Adventures special How I Spent My Vacation.